The thesis in the essay, Why Read the Classics? by Calvino varies according to its reader. In this essay, there is no real introduction, so there is no direct thesis therefore leaving the thesis to be determined by the reader. This type of thesis is implicit and not straight up written in the essay. After reading the entire essay, I as the reader, have interpreted the thesis to be that a well-rounded person of knowledge will read classics throughout his or her entire life. I have gathered this idea from what I have read in each of the definitions of the classics. One example of why I think this is found under definition one. Here it says, "What this shows is that reading a great work for the first time when one is fully adult is an extraordinary pleasure, one which is very different (though it is impossible to say whether more or less pleasurable) from reading it in one's youth" (Calvino, page 4, paragraph 2). This topic is brought up again in definition three, which talks about "rediscovering the most important readings of our youth" (Calvino, page 4, paragraph 6). One of the strongest examples of why I believe this to be the thesis is definition eleven where it talks about 'your' classic and later towards the end of the essay where it talks about creating a library for your 'own' classics. Each definition goes back to the idea of how classics are important and should be read throughout ones entire life.
Calvino, Italo. Why Read the Classics? London: Vintage, 2000. Print.
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